Instagram Got a New Office. It Looks Like Instagram

Venture into the offices of many young tech companies and you’ll notice a certain aesthetic—scrappy yet stark, with an undertone of sophomoric bemusement. Lots of wood and polished concrete, bright colors, that sort of thing.

As companies mature, so to do their offices. Things get more polished, more professional, more … mature. Instagram offers an excellent example. The company, which celebrated the sixth anniversary of its amazing app on Thursday, recently moved its 350 employees from a one-story office at Facebook’s former HQ in Menlo Park, California,into a refurbished building not far away.

Instagram’s creative director, Ian Spalter, worked with the architecture firm Gensler to design the place. The idea was to make the office reflect the app. “We’re trying to be a bit more intentional and a bit more refined,” he says. We asked Spalter to point out some of his favorite details in the redesign.

01

Lobby

A digital gallery displaying content from Instagram frames the reception desk in the lobby, making it clear just where you are. “You want to feel like you arrived at Instagram,”Spalter says. “Instagram isn’t just a big logo or app icon, it’s the content.” Eight digital displays feature photos and videos, and others highlight Instagram’s signature ombre color scheme.

Credit: Christophe Wu

A digital gallery displaying content from Instagram frames the reception desk in the lobby, making it clear just where you are. “You want to feel like you arrived at Instagram,”Spalter says. “Instagram isn’t just a big logo or app icon, it’s the content.” Eight digital displays feature photos and videos, and others highlight Instagram’s signature ombre color scheme.

02

Life-Size Instagram Backdrops

Walk past the first-floor dining area—which, with its white tile and minimalist wood stools, Spalter describes as a Scandinavian cabin”—and you’ll reach a studio of sorts. Instagram hired a Hollywood set designer to craft three modular sets perfectly illuminated for mobile photography. The scenes include a twinkling starscape, tableau of moon and sun, and a sunset-hued sky reminiscent of Instagram’s icon. They’re the perfect place for visitors and employees to snap a pic.

Credit: Christophe Wu

Walk past the first-floor dining area—which, with its white tile and minimalist wood stools, Spalter describes as a Scandinavian cabin”—and you’ll reach a studio of sorts. Instagram hired a Hollywood set designer to craft three modular sets perfectly illuminated for mobile photography. The scenes include a twinkling starscape, tableau of moon and sun, and a sunset-hued sky reminiscent of Instagram’s icon. They’re the perfect place for visitors and employees to snap a pic.

03

Design Room

Conference rooms usually induce yawns, literally and metaphorically, but Spalter loves the white-walled room where he and his team will hash out new features. “My team is really excited about having a standing space where we can discuss design work in progress,” he says. Large, replaceable foamcore boards snap right onto the wall, creating vast places to display work and refine ideas. Two standing tables with tall chairs encourage participation and collaboration because it keeps people moving around the room. “It’s not magic, but it changes the purpose of the room,” Spalter says.

Credit: Justin Aguilar

Conference rooms usually induce yawns, literally and metaphorically, but Spalter loves the white-walled room where he and his team will hash out new features. “My team is really excited about having a standing space where we can discuss design work in progress,” he says. Large, replaceable foamcore boards snap right onto the wall, creating vast places to display work and refine ideas. Two standing tables with tall chairs encourage participation and collaboration because it keeps people moving around the room. “It’s not magic, but it changes the purpose of the room,” Spalter says.

04

Micro-Kitchen

That same vibe applies to the rest of the office. Even the fully stocked micro-kitchens on each floor. Each features a long wood table where people can linger over coffee or lunch. “It’s a great way to have casual conversations with the people you bump into,” Spalter says. “Which helps us feel like we’re all one company.”

Credit: Christophe Wu

That same vibe applies to the rest of the office. Even the fully stocked micro-kitchens on each floor. Each features a long wood table where people can linger over coffee or lunch. “It’s a great way to have casual conversations with the people you bump into,” Spalter says. “Which helps us feel like we’re all one company.”

05

The open floor plan required creating quiet places where employees can concentrate, or get a few moments of quiet. The biggest is the library, where the shelves teem with art and design books and employees can sketch with colored pencils or relax with a coloring book.

Credit: Justin Aguilar

The open floor plan required creating quiet places where employees can concentrate, or get a few moments of quiet. The biggest is the library, where the shelves teem with art and design books and employees can sketch with colored pencils or relax with a coloring book.

06

Blue Bottle

Coffee is the fuel powering any office, and Instagram didn’t skimp. It selected the ultra hip Blue Bottle for its coffee bar. Spalter let Blue Bottle design the space, which looks pretty much like the rest of the office—lots of light-colored wood and white walls. “Their furniture might be better than ours,” Spalter says. “I looked at the bottom of the chairs to figure out how I could get them.”

Credit: Christophe Wu

Coffee is the fuel powering any office, and Instagram didn’t skimp. It selected the ultra hip Blue Bottle for its coffee bar. Spalter let Blue Bottle design the space, which looks pretty much like the rest of the office—lots of light-colored wood and white walls. “Their furniture might be better than ours,” Spalter says. “I looked at the bottom of the chairs to figure out how I could get them.”